Photo by Garry Talbert
NEWBERRY — The No. 9 Newberry College baseball team (41-11) put together an eight-hit night at the Smith Road Complex, but it wasn’t enough as the visiting No. 3 University of Tampa Spartans (38-9) claimed an 11-0 victory.
Donovan Ford (Greenville) recorded three hits to raise his average above .400, Braylin Marine (Freeport, N.Y.) added two hits, and Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.), Jomar Lugo (San Sebastian, P.R.) and Hunter French (Minneola, Fla.) each added singles.
Tampa got on the board in the top of the first with a solo homer, one of four on the night for the Spartans.
Ford led off the home half of the inning with a single and advanced to second on a Jacob LeBron (Lexington) sacrifice bunt as the Wolves looked poised to get the run back just as fast. The next two batters couldn’t keep the inning going as the Spartans led 1-0 after one inning.
Tampa added two more runs in the top of the third with a pair of RBI singles. Again, the Wolves got a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the frame after base hits from Ford and Marine, but were unable to plate a run.
After the Spartans made it 5-0 in the fifth, hits by Lugo and Ford gave Newberry runners on first and second with one out in the bottom half before an inning-ending double play.
Two runs in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings gave Tampa its 11-0 lead, and proved insurmountable for the Wolves.